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Business as a Blend of People, Technology and Ethical Behaviour

Business is a combination of people, technology and ethical behaviour. Although the

quest for profits is a central focus of business, businesspeople also recognise social

and ethical responsibilities. To succeed in the long-run, companies must deal

responsibly with employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, government, and the

general public.

According to recent studies, technology is having a profound affect on ethics in the

workplace. One study found that nearly half of those polled said they had engaged in

some sort of unethical action related to new technology within the last year.

Technology is also making the definition of ethical behaviour even more unclear.

With new technological changes, managers are attempting to cope with the ethics of

regulating the use of technology. They must understand the new ethical issues, as

well as laws that affect how those issues are handled. These are areas of growing

concern in the workplace, especially with the arrival of the internet.

Science and technology are a process of social practice, which is to know the essence

and rules of objects so as to stimulate the societys development. Ethics is also a

process of social practice, which is to make the society steady and harmonious via

behaviour norms and regulations. Business in itself is a social practice, which is to

improve peoples living standard and social development through kinds of

transactions following accepted agreements and rules. Science pursues reality, ethics

the good, and business profits. Business operation builds a ladder between the ethical

behaviour and that of science and technology. With this, the trip is accomplished that

unifies scientific truth and ethical good. It then can be completed in human practice,

which has surmounted the theoretical scope we discussed. Its standard of measure is

the effect of business result (including effectiveness and efficiency), perhaps. Thebetter the business effect is, the better it explains science and technology and ethics

coordination. On the contrary, the worse it is, the further science and technology and

ethics deviate from each other. In this case, scientific personnel should devote to the

technical development of enterprise and the technical innovation campaign, and

deeply think what the reasonable limit of science and technology as a tool is. They

should also incorporate the knowledge of science and technology to the production,

so as to realise the perfect unification of pursuing reality and pursuing benefit.

Business and People

The effectiveness and success of an organisation lies not only in the organisations

products or service, but in its resources. Organisations have many resources, both

physical and financial as well as resources that are directly related to organisationalbehaviour, such as knowledge, ability, decision-making and intelligence of the

employees. Because of the value of the people within and behind the organisation, it

is very important that the organisation takes special care to ensure the happiness and

satisfaction of their employees with their jobs, regardless of how major or minor the

job may be. The people behind the scenes, operating and running the organisation, are

by far, the most valuable resource the company has to utilise.

People are important for any business because of following reasons:

1) Organisations achieve their objectives through people. The strategic and

operational management of people is a crucial concern therefore for any

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organisation and its leaders and managers who are keen to succeed as more

complex business models and organisation structures emerge.

2) The resources related to behaviour of business can only be found in one place, the

employees and workers behind the scenes of an organisation. These employees

could be salespeople, accountants, managers, drivers, maintenance workers,

cashiers, stockers, distributors, designers, editors, chefs, waitresses, nurses, as

well as almost every other job title there is. These people, no matter how small or

insignificant their job, duties and responsibilities may seem, play a very

important role, because without them the organisation most likely, could not be

run. Every job, no matter how high or low on the totem pole, in an organisation is

essential.

3) The company also requires officials and higher-ups to dictate how the

organisation should be run, what policies should be in place in order to ensure

smooth function of the organisation, as well as to be in charge of hiring

individuals to work for the company, and creating or closing job positions as seento be beneficial to the organisation.

4) The importance of people in organisations is widely recognised. In the last

decade of the twentieth century, many business writers realised that intelligence

lay at the heart of modern business success. Intelligent employees are able to

add millions/billions of pounds to the value of a corporation people who use the

latest information technologies, and who interact either face to face or through

some other form of communication with customers.

Business and Technology

Technology in business is a growing necessity. As the years go by, the business world

is leaning more and more toward it, making it almost impossible to separate the two

from each other. Innovation breeds business, and since technology paves the way forit, it can be gathered here that business needs technology to be sustained.

Business has always existed since the early times of man. Even though it only began

with the simplistic barter system, business would not be the same as it is today

without the advancements in technology. All the major industries would fall into a

catastrophic collapse if one were to take away technology from business, since

majority of business operations and transactions somehow involve the use of

technology.

Technology has following importance in business:

1) Technology as a Business Necessity: The role of technology in business caused

a tremendous growth in trade and commerce. Business concepts and models wererevolutionised as a result of the introduction of technology. This is because

technology gave a new and better approach on how to go about with business. It

provided a faster, more convenient, and more efficient way of performing

business transactions.

Some of actions of technology in business include accounting systems,

management information systems, point of sales systems, and other simpler or

more complicated tools. Even the calculator is a product of technology. It is

indeed unfathomable to summon the idea of going back to the days where

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everything was done manually, which basically means starting all over again

from scratch.

2) Security and Support: With the automated processes that technology can

provide, productivity reaches a higher level. This is due to the minimal resources

consumed in processing business activities, allowing room for better products

produced and faster services delivered to more clients and customers.

Information is also stored with ease and integrity. With this, confidential and

sensitive information are less prone to vulnerabilities. The said information can

also be instantly retrieved and analysed to monitor trends and make forecasts,

which can be crucial in decision-making processes.

3) Link to the World: Business involves communication, transportation, and more

fields, making it a complex web of processes. The technologies pertaining to

other fields only pushed business further. Globalisation has been realised because

of the wonders of technology. Anyone can now do business anywhere withinbeing constricted to the four corners of his room.

Technology in business made it possible to have a wider reach in the global

market. For example, internet, which is now a common marketing tool to attract

more consumers in availing products and services offered by various businesses.

Indeed, technology in business ultimately made living worthwhile. It cannot be

denied though that technological threats to business are growing rampant, such as

hacking and other malicious activities, so one has to be responsible enough in

utilising the power of technology. The good that technology brings has some

excess baggage in the form of bad things that threaten to shake the business

world. In the end, it is still responsible use of these that would further allow us toenjoy the benefits that technology can bring.

4) Saves Time: Small business employees must wear a lot of hats. There is no such

thing as having one job. Technology can allow spending far less time on routine

tasks. Once you learn how to use a system, you become faster and more efficient.

In other words, the benefit keeps growing as your familiarity grows.

Imagine how much more time you would have to spend on simple tasks like

going to the bank or buying groceries if you had to do them without machines or

the software that runs them? Now think about how your business would change if

you applied those same kinds of time-saving solutions to routine business tasks.

5) Prevent Errors: Regardless of how thorough or careful you are, mistakes will be

made. Technology never gets tired, it is never sick and it does not transposenumbers. You can count on technology to consistently do what it is supposed to

do. Mistakes can be costly. They can cost you customers and money. Anything

that prevents re-work and enhances customer satisfaction is worth considering.

Technology can do both.

6) Level the Playing Field: Your big company competitors keep track of all their

customers, the last time each was contacted, all their purchases and so on. These

companies ability to provide fast, automated responses is possible because of

auto-reply systems. Inventory is tracked online. Robust software applications are

used to help prevent errors and eliminate manual work.

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How can a small business owner be competitive without some of the same tools?

I honestly do not think you can. Great customer service, which is something

many large companies struggle to do well, can close some of the gap. And let us

face it many of us are willing to pay a bit more to receive great service. But

there is a limit to how much we are willing to pay.

By effectively using technology you can augment your companys ability to

provide the individualised service that comes from working with a small

company. Most importantly, you can save money and deliver your goods and

services as quickly as the big guys.

Business and Ethical Behaviour

Ethics concern an individuals moral judgements about right and wrong. Decisions

taken within an organisation may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever

makes them will be influenced by the culture of the company. The decision to behaveethically is a moral one; employees must decide what they think is the right course of

action. This may involve rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest short-term

profit.

Unethical behaviour or a lack of corporate social responsibility, by comparison, may

damage a firms reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. Profits could

fall as a result.

Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the employee or the human social unit of

the society who benefits from ethics. In addition ethics is important because of the

following:

1) Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one the basichuman needs. Every employee desires to be such himself and to work for an

organisation that is fair and ethical in its practices.

2) Creating Credibility: An organisation that is believed to be driven by moral

values is respected in the society even by those who may have no information

about the working and the businesses or an organisation. For example, Infosys is

perceived as an organisation for good corporate governance and social

responsibility initiatives. This perception is held far and wide even by those who

do not even know what business the organisation is into.

3) Uniting People and Leadership: An organisation driven by values is revered by

its employees also. They are the common thread that brings the employees and

the decision-makers on a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning

behaviours within the organisation towards achievement of one common goal ormission.

4) Improving Decision-Making: A mans destiny is the sum total of all the

decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true for

organisations. Decisions are driven by values. For example, an organisation that

does not value competition will be fierce in its operations aiming to wipe out its

competitors and establish a monopoly in the market.

5) Long-Term Gains: Organisations guided by ethics and values are profitable in

the long-run, though in the short-run they may seem to lose money. For example,

Tata group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India was seen on the

verge of decline at the beginning of 1990s, which soon turned out to be

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otherwise. The same companys Tata Nano car was predicted as a failure, and

failed to do well but the same is picking up fast now.

6) Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society. The

law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator, unable to save the

society and the environment. For example, technology is growing at such a fast

pace that by the time law comes up with a regulation we have a newer technology

with new threats replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations

may not help a great deal but ethics can.

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